Bewitched by the Bejeweled? Winston’s Why

Harry Winston was a smart man.

When the New York jeweler was asked to dress actress and nominee Jennifer Jones in his diamonds for the 1943 Oscars, he jumped at the chance.

“Harry Winston was the first person who got it,” company spokeswoman Carol Brodie-Gelles said.

Getting it meant that if you got Hollywood to wear your product, the public would follow.

Winston, who spent part of his youth in Los Angeles, died in 1978, but his legacy lives on. Company staffers see all the movies, read the trades and “listen to the buzz.” By September, they start their campaign to jewel the stars.

This year, the House of Harry Winston will bejewel 25 people.

“Maybe two-thirds are already clients of ours,” Brodie-Gelles said. “Ten are nominees [they won’t say who] and presenters. The rest are behind the scenes. Twenty to 30% will buy the piece they borrow.”

Other jewelers are following the tradition that Winston started and his son, Ronald, continues. Movado, Concorde, Van Cleef & Arpels and the Cultured Pearl Information Center are among the many to enter the Oscar arena.

The diamonds provided by Harry Winston are among the few products stars know they have to return; in fact, they sign an agreement stating so. Some return the jewels the next day with a bouquet of roses. After hosting another awards show, Rosie O’Donnell returned hers in a diaper bag.

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And don’t even think of lifting one. Winston supplies security for most of the stars--usually off-duty LAPD officers in black tuxedos who keep a discreet distance.

“There’s this omnipotence thing when you wear Harry Winston diamonds,” said Brodie-Gelles, showing off her teardrop diamond earrings.

Last year, Ben Affleck wore a diamond watch to the Academy Award ceremonies, when he and Matt Damon won best original screenplay for “Good Will Hunting.” Affleck liked the watch so much that then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow bought it for him.

Last year, when nominee Gloria Stuart of “Titanic” walked down the red carpet wearing a sapphire necklace inspired by the movie, the phone rang at Harry Winston. A client watching Stuart on TV called to purchase the necklace.

“Harry Winston was not only the king of diamonds, but a PR genius,” Brodie-Gelles said. But for all his diamonds, Winston did not make much of a first impression. When he traveled, nobody believed he was Harry Winston, according to Brodie-Gelles So he hired a retired judge to travel with him and announce, “Harry Winston is here to see you.”

Winston was so fanatical about everyone learning about gems that he donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian, where it is now on display at the gallery named after the jeweler.